


A Series of Bad Choices

by Jacqualine



Series: Red Jacket Series [4]
Category: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M, Red and Black Jacket
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:34:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25851424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jacqualine/pseuds/Jacqualine
Summary: Anne misses Gilbert while back in Avonlea.
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Series: Red Jacket Series [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1863106
Comments: 6
Kudos: 133





	A Series of Bad Choices

She missed him, it felt strange to be back at Green Gables knowing that he wasn't a short walk away, that he was in Toronto. 

In Charlottetown she was busy most hours of the day, and she didn't have a lot of time to dwell on how much she did miss him. Of course at night when she sat down to write him a letter, the need to see him or hear his voice was always overwhelming. However, not a day could go by where something didn't remind her of him, and she would stare off into space for a few moments, wistfully wishing for him. 

He wasn't able to come home for Thanksgiving, the trip just one way on the train from Toronto to Halifax alone was over 18 hours and then he would need to take the ferry to Charlottetown and the train from there to Bright River. It was nearly a full 24 hours of travel one way, he would be too exhausted to enjoy the short visit he would have, and it would leave him physically exhausted for school afterward. It all made sense when he explained it in his letter and she understood, but she couldn't help feeling just a bit disappointed. 

They had exchanged numerous letters since both of them left Avonlea for school, and the letters revealed all she had ever wondered about Gilbert Blythe, it was like she finally had a cipher for decoding him. She marvelled at how eloquent he could be, how could he be the same boy that had called her carrots and pulled her hair? She ached with missing him, she had given him a brief hug at the train station, Marilla and Matthew also there to say goodbye to her, would never have allowed the kiss she so desperately yearned for. Not that anyone knew about them or their feelings, just Diana had been told of their promise to allow their feelings to be explored.

"I'm going for a walk Marilla." She called out, the golden October sun was too much to resist, she wanted to hear the leaves crunching under her feet, feel the chill in the air and visit with her favourite trees and bushes. The familiar path brought a wave of nostalgia, one that confused her, she had only been gone 7 weeks...how did it all feel so long ago?

She found herself at the fork that would lead her to Gilbert's house. She wished she could go there now, visit with Delphine, hear a story about Trinidad from Hazel, listen to Bash tease Gilbert, and learn a recipe from Mary. Mary was dead though, and Bash and Hazel had taken Delphine to Charlottetown for the holiday, Elijah had met a girl and her family wanted to meet his, the grey stone house was all alone.  
She paused just as she was about to walk away, surely they wouldn't mind her just visiting the house. She had been there alone in the house while watching Delphine many times, and it wouldn't hurt for her to check in on it and make sure nothing was amiss while the Lacroixs were away. The door wouldn't be locked, no one in Avonlea locked their doors, most houses didn't even have an actual lock on the door. She wouldn't go inside, she would just walk around outside, maybe peek in through the windows.

Once she was there it was just a series of bad choices, which didn't seem that way in the moment, that led her not only inside the house but up to Gilbert's room, where she wandered around the space he used to occupy. She ran her fingers over the desk and chair, imagining him sitting there, concentrating hard while he studied. A chair beside the window, the golden sunlight streaming through, did he sit her and read, or dream? Had he thought of her? She sat in the chair and looked out his window, she wanted to see the same view he would have had, she could see the tops of the trees in the orchard and one of the fields, lying fallow for the winter. She walked to his bed and felt the soft blanket on the bed, it felt slightly scandalous to touch the pillows and blankets on his bed, she was sure Marilla would not approve. She was going to leave but noticed his coat, hanging on the back of the closet door, her old friend...the red and black plaid jacket. 

She couldn't resist moving toward it and letting her hands move over the sleeves, he hadn't taken it Toronto, perhaps it wasn't sophisticated enough for him learning to be a doctor in the big city, or maybe he had simply forgotten it, not remembering he would need it in a few months when the cold November winds blew in, or maybe he had just outgrown it.

He had offered it to her twice before without hesitation, she knew he wouldn't begrudge her now, when in a moment of weakness she felt the need to take it off the hook and slip her arms into and button it up, then she sat in the chair by the window and let the afternoon sun envelope her. She was lost in a wonderful daydream about Christmas, imagining that Gilbert would write her a sonnet for Christmas, one where he spoke of her wonders and she believed them all to be true, when she heard feet on the stairs.

A moment of panic set in, if Bash caught her like this he would tease her until the day one of them died, Hazel would be outraged and would tell Marilla, she hoped it was Elijah, he probably wouldn't say anything if she asked him. Still she stood up and began to undo the buttons, she could get out of the coat and hang it back up and tell them she was looking for a book Gilbert had left in his room. The footsteps came right to the door and were not stopping as the doorknob turned. She frantically fumbled with the buttons on the jacket, of course they wouldn't release themselves now in her true moment of need, what was the person out in the hallway coming in here for anyway? There was no reason for them to come in here. She considered hiding under the bed or in the closet but what if they didn't leave the house again for the night and she was trapped there? Marilla would send out a search party if Anne missed dinner. "Please let it be Elijah." She whispered as the door opened and Gilbert entered the room, freezing in place when he saw her.

Neither of them spoke, they just stared at each other, drinking the other person in with their eyes. She was fully dressed, even wearing the coat, but the way his eyes raked up and down her body made her feel completely exposed, her legs trembled at the dark look in his eyes. 

"Should I be concerned with how much you end up wearing my clothing?" He finally spoke. 

"Probably." She answered. A moment later they both moved toward each other and he gathered her into his arms and held her close, her face tucked into his shoulder, his against her hair. 

"I missed you."

"I missed you too." She sighed. "Wait...." She stepped back a bit to look at him but didn't break his hold on her. "What are you doing here? You said you would be too tired and it would be too hard on you mind and body to make the trip for only one day. 

"I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up, but I knew that we would get Wednesday off, I spoke to my professors and they weren't planning anything to important in class for Tuesday so I left Monday as soon as classes ended. I got in last night, rented a hotel for the night and then visited with Bash, Hazel, Elijah and Delphine this morning and afternoon. I got to meet Elijah's girl, Patience and her family. They are wonderful people."

"I hope she lives up to her name because Bash will test hers. So when to you leave?"

"Saturday afternoon, that gives me time to get home and rest a bit for Monday morning." He told her. 

"So two days." It sounded like so very little.

"Almost three." His hand came up to cup her face, his thumb stroking her cheek. "I almost convinced myself that I had imagined how beautiful you are."

"I was worried I had imagined the whole thing." She admitted, she noted his eyes were looking at her lips and knew that he was going to kiss her this time. 

She stood in Gilbert Blythe's bedroom, wearing his old winter coat, while he lowered his lips to hers and left just a whisper of a kiss there, testing it out before kissing her again. The second time was firmer and he explored her lips with his, she tried to copy his actions but found it hard to think, her toes were curling and her knees felt weak. When he lifted his head he was smiling, a smug happy little grin. She fought the urge to roll her eyes at him, because she too was immensely happy with their first kiss.

"Come on, I'll walk you part of the way, then I'll come by your place later and "surprise" you, so get working on your reaction." He told her. She nodded and headed for the door. "Anne?"

"Yes?" She stopped to see what he wanted.

"Might not be a good idea to return home in my coat."

**Author's Note:**

> After doing a quick Google search, Wiki tells me that Thanksgiving used to be on Thursdays in Canada until well after the first world war. I don't know if it was the holiday it is now and if school actually shut down for the time, for the sake of my story, it did.


End file.
